A child applying to register as a British citizen who is aged ten must satisfy the Secretary of State that he is of ‘good character’. This is a mandatory application requirement. There is no legal definition of ‘good character’ and therefore no statutory guidance on its interpretation and how it should be applied. The Secretary of State’s good character guidance for adults’ naturalisation applications is used for children’s registration applications. There is, therefore, no distinction at all on the face of the present policy between the way in which children’s character is assessed and the way in which adults’ character is assessed.
PRCBC is interested in hearing from any young person who has been affected by the good character requirement or anyone working with such persons.
For more information, please see our legal research page.
This is a six month research funded by the Strategic Legal Fund (SLF).